This is the best song in the world.
Anyways, heaya guys, this is ya boy Deeerpz with another RMT. It's been a while since I've done these and to be honest I wasn't gonna do one because I have mostly been creating teams every time I log on showdown nowadays, but this one really grew on me as I took it on a 17-3 streak, which isn't anything special for most people but quite the accomplishment for me.
Teambuilding process:
Always wanted to build around this guy. I mostly see Defog Shiftry on the ladder, and that seems to be the case for most people - at least they don't play around this very well.
Pyroar seemed like a natural fit, adding speed, nice coverage, the ability to break down Bugs and Steel types. He also lures in a lot of the stuff Shiftry sets up on.
He's here for no reason other than me wanting to use him really badly. Haven't built with this bad boy in quite some time and I really enjoy him, so here we go.
This used to be Weezing, and considering I have no spin blocker maybe it still should be, but I enjoy being able to absorb toxic spikes. Also helps wearing down physical samurott. Either way, with 3/3 weak to fighting so far, I needed something to take care of fighting types, and Garbo is that something.
I saw Kiyo use this set and stole it. Gave me a Malamar answer, a Lilligant/Vivillon answer, something to offensively check fighting types, a ground resist in case Shiftry bites the dust. Seemed pretty cool to me.
OK honestly I have what I was thinking here. This should honestly be bulky mismagius or Lanturn, but fuck Lanturn, and Discharge is nice, and not being weak to knockoff is nice too. Also sort of handles Floatzel and shit. I don't know really, and at this point I'm too afraid to ask.
The Team:
Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
Pretty standard swords dance set. You can run Lum Berry here, but I prefer the extra power.
Shiftry is pretty awesome right now imo. He sets up on a lot of slower stuff that is pretty common, and
he hits like a truck. Really my go-to guy for most rock and water types, and he mostly comes in on
predicted psychic moves, rapid spins or defogs. Not much else to say. Dude's a beast.
Pyroar @ Life Orb
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Voice
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Taunt
Again, a pretty standard set bar maybe taunt, which I like in case I play Pyroar as an anti lead or to stop
Audino from constantly wishing. It lures stuff in that Shiftry wants to set up on and dents holes in the
opposing walls, paving the way for an eventual sweep. Good pokemon, and arguably the best fire mon in
the tier right now.
Audino from constantly wishing. It lures stuff in that Shiftry wants to set up on and dents holes in the
opposing walls, paving the way for an eventual sweep. Good pokemon, and arguably the best fire mon in
the tier right now.
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Atk / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
The rock setter of my choice. I like it because it's a fair mixture of offense and defense and can fulfill
multiple roles depending on the enemy team composition. Priority is always nice, so is STAB earthquake.
Really solid mon in my opinion, as he's just suuuuper versatile. Also sort of my only decent option against
Swellow if Shiftry is dead. Beats Xatu too, which comes in really handy, considering he wants to set up rocks. Sometimes he just sweeps for no reason too. Piloswine is da man.
Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Toxic Spikes
Super defensive Garbo. People like running speed on this guy, but really, most of the time he's just there
to tank hits and more Def and HP lets me get more Rocky Helmet procs. Other than that, it's a Garbodor,
it checks fighting types and Mega Dino to an extent, it provides spike support and drain punches Steelix,
Rhydon etc on the switchin. A staple in NU, and for a good reason.
to tank hits and more Def and HP lets me get more Rocky Helmet procs. Other than that, it's a Garbodor,
it checks fighting types and Mega Dino to an extent, it provides spike support and drain punches Steelix,
Rhydon etc on the switchin. A staple in NU, and for a good reason.
Mesprit @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Signal Beam
- Sleep Talk
A set I stole from Kiyo. No one expects Specs Mesprit, so you can play around predicted switchins and
punch holes in teams. Sleep talk is so my team has an answer to sleep powder, at least I presume that's
what Kiyo put it in for originally. That's what I use it for at least. Solidly checks fighting types offensively,
which the first three guys greatly appreciate. I thought about scarfing this for a while, but the extra
power is really astonishing, so I keep the specs.
Rotom-Fan @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Air Slash
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Super weird set, but for some reason, it works really well in this team. No one predicts you to be SpDef,
so everyone clicks stuff they shouldn't be clicking, and you just start spreading Status and Flinches, while
healing up with Pain Split and Leftovers. It wears down Vileplume handily and helps taking care of water
types if Shiftry is busy doing something else. I know Lanturn would be amazing here, but sometimes that
Earth Quake switchin is good, and another soft fighting check is always handy if half your team takes 2x
damage from fighting types. A spin blocker would be amazing too with my hazard stacking core, but I
found just taunting defogs or coming in with Shiftry to set up Swords Dance to be quite effective
anyways, so I personally don't mind them spending a turn. Either way, I'm assuming this is going to be
the target of many people's changes, but I urge you to try the team a couple of matches before forming
an opinion.
Closing thoughts
This is a pretty fun team because it offers a bit of everything: a set-up sweeper, a fast life orb user, a super strong wallbreaker in Mesprit, two defensive pokemon who function VASTLY differently and then Piloswine who's something in between. It sort of works around the whole idea of luring stuff in with Rotom and Pyroar for Shiftry who's definitely the star of the team, but it has enough offensive backbone to clutch out games even if Shiftry goes down early. It does have some weaknesses; I basically have to predict/sac something most of the time a strong fire type comes in, water types can be iffy too, and normal spam seems like it could be an issue too if I lose Garb too early. Nevertheless I've been VERY successful with this team on the lower ladder (up to ~1400) and even clutched out some wins against players I respect and that are clearly better than me.
Anyways, looking forward to your rates!
This is a pretty fun team because it offers a bit of everything: a set-up sweeper, a fast life orb user, a super strong wallbreaker in Mesprit, two defensive pokemon who function VASTLY differently and then Piloswine who's something in between. It sort of works around the whole idea of luring stuff in with Rotom and Pyroar for Shiftry who's definitely the star of the team, but it has enough offensive backbone to clutch out games even if Shiftry goes down early. It does have some weaknesses; I basically have to predict/sac something most of the time a strong fire type comes in, water types can be iffy too, and normal spam seems like it could be an issue too if I lose Garb too early. Nevertheless I've been VERY successful with this team on the lower ladder (up to ~1400) and even clutched out some wins against players I respect and that are clearly better than me.
Anyways, looking forward to your rates!
Last edited:
